Monday, February 29, 2016

Dinosaur Hunters in the New Mexico Desert

Have you ever imagined traveling back in time and meeting a
real, live dinosaur? It’s more possible than you might think – except for the “live”
part.

Alan Erickson has been interested in paleontology – the
study of fossils – since childhood, because, “I have always enjoyed digging for
treasure.” He looked up scientific papers on New Mexico paleontology and visited
an area where fossil bones had been found. “After a week of hunting I finally
found a vertebra [back bone]. I called the museum and reported the find.”
Eventually staffers from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMMNHS)
came out to see it. It was a phytosaur, a pre-dinosaur that looked like a
crocodile.

The museum staffers “brought me into the fold,” Alan says,
and he began joining official museum digs. “I enjoy the exposure to new
knowledge and places, and the comradery. Each dig is like a whole semester of
school packed into a couple of days, but much better.”

On one museum dig, “I spotted a hillside and I just knew I’d
find something there. I walked straight to the hill and I saw bones poking out
of it.” The bones have not yet been studied in detail but may be a tyrannosaur.

He also continues to hunt on his own. “I love finding bones,
but one of the coolest things I’ve found is a piece of sandstone with 10 or 15
different leaves or seeds in different colors. It’s one of the most beautiful
things I’ve ever seen.”

For others interested in dinosaur hunting, Alan advises, “It
takes a long time to find this stuff. You have to learn how to see them.” If
you do find something, “Check the GPS coordinates and call the museum. You’ll
have more fun with the museum than without them.”

ammonites at the museum

Field and Lab

Some volunteers work in the museum as well as in the field,
almost turning their hobby into a full-time job. Paul Sealey is a museum
research associate, an official but unpaid position. “I was one of the first
volunteers here,” he says. “I’ve been collecting fossils for 45 years.”

Paul is best known for his discovery of the “Bisti Beast,” a
new species of tyrannosaur. He knew right away he had something special. “There
was part of a jaw with a tooth eroding out. Parts of the ribs and legs and
femur were exposed too. It turned out to be a partial skeleton.” The skull is
now on display at the Smithsonian, while the rest is still in the NMMNHS prep
lab. Some of Paul’s other finds are on display in Albuquerque as well. The
science comes first, “But it’s good that they are on display so the public can
see it too.”

Paul’s specialty is ammonites, an extinct marine animal
related to octopus and squid. “I’ve been all over the state. The most fun is
always making a discovery, but that’s just the start. Then you have to curate
them.” He cleans the fossils, makes labels, photographs them, and catalogs
everything. He’s been working on a monograph about ammonites for years. He
keeps finding new things, like one known from Texas that had not been found in
New Mexico before. “It’s hard to stop.”

Going Pro

Amanda Cantrell took her hobby even farther. “When I met my
fiancée, we started going on hikes and finding fossils. I got obsessed with it.”
She volunteered at the museum, worked as an intern, and finally got hired as
Geoscience Collections Manager. “I’m a librarian of fossils,” she says. Her
fiancé is now the prep lab manager, and they’re both still passionate about
fossils.

Amanda warns amateurs not to move or collect anything. It’s
illegal to collect fossils of vertebrates (animals with a spine) on public
lands. Besides, the find is most valuable if the scientists have a chance to
study it in place. “Once you pick up a fossil, you take it out of context. It’s
important if someone finds a [vertebrate] fossil, don’t touch it,” Amanda says.
“Give us a GPS coordinate and call us or send a picture.” It is legal to
collect certain fossils, but know the laws and “When in doubt, take pictures
and GPS, and ask. There is a legal way to collect, and that’s through us.”

Amanda encourages interested people to join the New Mexico
Friends of Paleontology. The museum hosts field trips 2 to 4 times a year, led
by a professional paleontologist. Volunteers often find exciting fossils, from
giant plants to dinosaur bones. “It’s often the only way they can find
vertebrate fossils and touch them,” Amanda says.

On a Dig, photo
by Alan Erickson

A Cool Contribution

Denise Elvrum has been on several museum digs. “I have been
interested in paleontology since I was a little girl. When the opportunity came
up to go on real digs, I jumped at it. It was one of the coolest things I’ve
ever done.”

On one dig, they found an aetosaur, a relative of the
crocodile. “I was off scouting with a senior volunteer and we noticed a group
of what looked like white rocks in a pattern in the dirt of a small arroyo.
After testing it and deciding that it was in fact bone, we started very
carefully removing dirt around the pieces. We keep digging, using small scoops
and dental picks, and found a right hind-quarter of the critter. At that point our
hearts were jumping around! We got the head paleontologist to come look at it
and he was super excited; it was the best one of these things he’d ever seen,
too.”

The most complete aetosaur skeleton ever found anywhere, it
is now on display at the museum. “I felt that by helping to uncover this
creature, I was contributing something to paleontology in New Mexico and maybe
to the greater world. It makes you feel special. I’ve gone to visit ‘my’ dino,
and taken my picture with it. It’s really, really neat!”

Jurassic Park may
be a fantasy, but dinosaur lovers can meet these beasts in the wild – with a
little help from museum friends.

For More Information

The Bureau of Land Management has guidelines for collecting
on public land. Vertebrate fossils, such as dinosaurs, mammals, reptiles, and
fishes, may only be collected by trained researchers with a BLM permit. Trace
fossils – footprints and coprolites (poop) – are also protected. Common
invertebrate fossils, such as plants and wood, may be collected “for personal
use in reasonable quantities, but may not be bartered or sold.” For more
information, see this page.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving
outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small
New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark
features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong
romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt
for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a
buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock newsletter for
announcements of new books, sales, and more.